The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Dante Moore's NFL Draft stock up, Drew Allar's down after Oregon-Penn State tilt

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

College football's loaded weekend delivered with Oregon, Alabama and Mississippi picking up huge wins. Those games, not to mention the rest of the slate, reverberated across the NFL Draft world, as well. Dane Brugler and Dave Helman break it all down on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. The guys also dive into Dane's All-Rookie Team through the first month of the NFL season.Rundown (timestamps are approximate)4:52 Game Ball: Dante Moore12:25 Drew Allar takes a tumble21:41 Game Ball: Ty Simpson30:11 Game Ball: Notre Dame RBs35:22 Top-50 Stock Watch: Fernando Mendoza39:45 Top-50 Stock Watch: Garrett Nussmeier44:10 Top-50 Stock Watch: Makai Lemon47:51 While you were busy...54:57 Dane's first month NFL All-Rookie Team1:20:48 Week 6 CFB lookaheadConnect with The Athletic Football ShowX: https://x.com/TA_FootballShowIG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshowYT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshowDiscord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshowCall us: 847-448-0701Email us: [e-mail]: Dave HelmanCo-Host: Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Dave on X: @davehelman_Follow Dane on X: @dpbruglerTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. I am your host, Dave Hellman. We got a loaded show. As always, my buddy, Dane Bruegler, our athletic draft guru, joins me as we seek to put together, build the 2026 version of the Beast, his phenomenal annual draft guide. We had a loaded college football weekend, Penn State, Oregon, Alabama, Georgia, couple other huge matchups to get to examining all the big,

winners coming out of those games as well as maybe some not so big winners, some puzzling developments covering every angle of that. And on top of that, Dane put together his all rookie team for the first month of the NFL season, taking a closer look at some of the guys who have really gotten out to a hot start in this year's rookie class. A phenomenal episode. Looking forward to y'all hearing it. So let's get into it. Let's go. All right, Dan, really busy week for you on both fronts, because obviously we had the jam-packed week-five slate of college football, but you're also publishing your all-rooky NFL team for the first quarter of the NFL season. So I'm guessing you in the film room

had a, had a busy start to your week this week. A lot of NFL film this week, which is, I mean, just my Sundays are usually watching NFL. It's got a couple of screens in the background while I'm looking at college tape. So I'm keeping track on everything NFL-wise, but really, diving into the film on some of these rookies was really interesting, really fun. It's essential just not only to talk about these guys, but for my own purposes of knowing what to scout for. What's working in the NFL? What's not? What are teams doing?

What are the trends? All that kind of stuff. So there's a lot of chalk, right? I mean, a lot of first round players are the ones that are playing well in terms of, you know, what this rookie class looks like, the early results. And that's to be expected that these are the guys giving the chances. But yeah, overall, I thought it was pretty eye-opening with some of these rookies are doing. We're going to dive into that in a little more detail later on in the show. I want to pick your brain about it too because I'm watching NFL in college all season,

but with a little distance from you other than what we get to do on the show. And obviously most of what we talk about is college football. So I'm curious for your thoughts on some of these NFL guys. but we are here to build the next beast more so than ruminate on the previous beast. So obviously we're going to start with the big week five that we spent all week previewing heading into the weekend. And there's plenty of places you can go when you've got as many big time matchups. But if we're handing out game balls, I think we got to start where we started the preview,

which is Oregon Penn State. And specifically, we said, this was a game going to be defined by its quarterbacks and nobody was it because I want to talk about Dante Moore like where else are you going to start after that performance in Happy Valley with the white out with all the stakes. Dante Moore definitely the we can't call him a newcomer to the conversation because you and I have been talking about him all season long but really planting his flag as a piece of this 2026 quarterback class. provided he even wants to come out.

But for the purposes of this, I thought it was a hell of a big time impression. No doubt. And yeah, we set up this game as something that would be a very revealing look at these two quarterbacks. And look, body of work matters,

no doubt. But how the quarterbacks responded on this stage should be weighted differently. And more was fantastic. To go on the road in that environment and play like you did, 75% completions, If you account for the drops and the throwaways, three touchdowns, no turnovers. A lot of the throws were just underneath throws.

You know, he's taken a profit. But he also had several big time throws down the field. And he was working from the pocket. I loved how he was working outside of structure. He did a nice job on quarterback draws, design runs. But he also showed that, hey, I can escape, keep plays alive, improvise. He had a nice one, like Sadiq down the field. He had another one to the freshman morning.

where he made a great catch, but bought time, found him, put the ball in a place where only he could get it. In overtime, I loved how he showed that body malleability on the boot

so he could avoid Dennis Sutton and then fire a strike that turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. So, I mean, how can you not be optimistic about more the way he's played, just the presence that he has?

Never getting too high, too low in the way he was playing out there. he had answers for all of the problems that they were putting out there for him. So the game plan, the coaching, and the quarterback play was all outstanding. And it took all of that to get a double overtime win. But it's the type of performance you're going to look back at and say, all right, this is the, if I'm going to bet on one of these quarterbacks, show me the quarterback that has this type of tape. And, you know, that's the guy I want to lean towards. So more has got it.

I love the word presence to describe him. And I think that could apply in a variety of different ways. Like it can apply to moments in the game, right? Like you go up 17 to 3. You watch that lead evaporate as the game winds down. How do you respond to the environment? How do you respond to the stage? And then like within plays as well, how do you respond to the touchdown that you mentioned

in double overtime is perfect? because how do you respond to having a guy in your face like that, essentially right away? And the answer every single time was poise, making the right play, even if it wasn't a splashy play. We talk so much about guys in these situations, how do you handle those factors and how does it weigh on you? It didn't look like a big deal for Dante Moore at all in this setting. Yeah, it was comfortable, really the entire game. And, you know, I think, again, a big part of that is game plan. And so the coaching, I think what they wanted to do, the ways they wanted to attack, that deserves a lot of credit, no doubt.

But the quarterback has to be, he's still the engineer, the offense. He still has to make the right decisions, the right calls in the moment. And he did that consistently. Kept them out of mistakes. Yeah, this is a check the boxes for this quarterback. And so the big question, okay, he played well over the first few weeks of the year, but it was against lower level competition. how would he do on the road against this type of opponent? And this was huge because you look at Oregon's schedule moving forward.

They don't have Ohio State, maybe until the Big Ten championship game, potentially. But, you know, they don't have, you know, they play Indiana. But Indiana is more offense than defense. They got to go to Washington later in the year, which is never easy. But this was a big one for Dante Moore to show what he could do as a prospect, but also a team that's kind of full full steam ahead. I mean, Oregon looks like one of the top three teams in the country right now in college football.

Another thing I loved about this, and it's not Dante Moore specific, but you mentioned game plan. I loved how Dan Lanning and the Oregon staff trusted him to put them in good situations. I counted four times in this game where Dante Moore made a play on third down that put them in position to go for it on fourth down. And I'm not, I'm not comparing

him to Jalen Hertz and I'm, you know, they didn't run the tush push in this game, but it reminded me of the Philadelphia Eagles where it's like, hey, all four downs are available to us if we can put ourselves in position to take advantage of them. And then once you get to fourth down, you've got a quarterback who can make the play. They go five of seven on fourth down. I mean, that's silly. And when you are able to extend drives that consistently, you're stealing possessions. Like, you're stealing the game from your opponent and that they trusted Dante Moore to put them in those situations. I thought it spoke volumes. No doubt. Trust is the key. That's the key word there. And in the post game, interview they did on the field, I mean, Dan Lannning clearly was emotional. And the first thing out of his

mouth was talking about, how about that quarterback? You know, because it's just, it is not easy to go into that type of environment and play even keeled for four quarters plus overtime. But that's exactly what Dante Moore did. So again, this is a, as we look towards the 2026 draft and we are still very much open-minded about what quarterback one is going to look like, Dante Moore filled out his application, turned it in, and he's looking like a viable candidate. Now, he's a player that is really a one-year starter. he had what like five starts for UCLA two years ago.

We can count those as, you know, maybe he's a one and a half year starter. So ideally, you know, you want your quarterbacks to be a, you know, three year starter at least. You want him to have 30 plus starts. If Dante Moore comes out after this year, he won't have that. But the way that he has played, he looks like a veteran.

He looks like a guy that's unflappable. And so that's something that'll help him throughout the process. we said this matchup was going to be defined by the quarterback so the flip side of that coin is Drew Aller is the other guy in this game and he's the guy with the I mean with the with the with the profile and the you know he's the senior you mean you talk about a guy that's played plenty of college football it's drew aller and I just I came out of this game exactly how I expected to come out of this game which was that it was a drew aller game which if we're trying to take the step forward and be. the guy that gets drafted ahead of everybody else. I don't think it's good for a Drew Aller game to be something that happens in a home loss. But that's how I felt about it. I was like, yeah, like the talent is clearly there. He made one or two sick throws. He can he can do some really good things with his feet. He's like he's not a bad football player. But the pick at the end of the game is obviously

the highlight that's going to get replayed over and over again. And I just, I want to see more growth from a guy that's had plenty of opportunity for it. Yeah. I mean, nothing of what you just said, I disagree with. It's a tough conversation because there's, there's just so much that looks broken about the Penn State offense. I don't understand the design of what they're doing. It didn't make sense.

I thought what Oregon was doing on defense, a lot of Tampa 2, a lot of zone. And I don't know. What Penn State was trying to do, not only did I, I don't think it was a good game plan. And it just didn't fit the strengths of the quarterback. And so, and I'm not trying to make excuses for Eiler because the lack of rhythm in his game makes it tough to watch. The footwork, his eyes, the release, it's just, it's messy. And we're not seeing improvement.

And that's the big thing is, okay, he clearly looked better last year than 2023. Could he take another step? Well, he has it, based on the first, you know, a few games, didn't look like he was going to, okay, were they holding stuff back? where they, you know, just not putting foot to the pedal, wanted to hold stuff back for the Oregon game. Okay, well, it doesn't really seem like they're doing that either. We didn't see improvement in that game.

We saw it from Drew Aller against Oregon, looked like what we saw again from Drew Aller against Ohio State last year or against Oregon last year, against Penn State or against Notre Dame last year in the playoffs. So, yeah, coming into the season, I had a second round grade on Drew Allen. as a developmental quarterback with down the road starting potential. There are reasons not to jump off the ship completely.

That deep post touchdown was beautiful. Like you said, he used his legs a lot more in this game. And it's, it was, you know, he's not someone that you're going to mistake with Josh Allen. Like, he's not that type of athlete, but he could, he can follow his blocks and he's not a slug. He can move around a little bit. So enough to move the chains. But overall, you know, that second round, preseason grade is more likely to go down than up into the first round based on what he's put on

film the first month of the season. This was one of my most burning questions to ask you heading into this show. And I agree with you on everything you just said, but I'm just so curious. And I think this is something that comes out of this game where you turn it on, you want to be wowed by a guy like Drew Aller, and you're just not, at least not on a consistent basis. But we talk so much about the talent and just the natural ability of a guy like this. And when you talk about the issues with the Penn State offense combined with the success stories that we've seen with development in the NFL recently. And it's fine if you don't have a definitive answer to this question because all 32 teams are different. But I'm so

curious how teams might view that and how scared they are by his lack of development or if this is still a guy that could get drafted pretty highly based on talent alone. When you say pretty highly, are you talking like top 20 top 50? When I say pretty highly, I'm talking first round. Like, or yeah, like top top 20, top 25, like where Jackson Dart got drafted at least. Right. And that's, and with all quarterbacks, you know, like Jackson Dart's a good example because what he was asked to do in Lane Kiffin's offense, very different than what he's

has to do in an NFL offense. And so you're kind of making our projection, right? Okay, well, it's kind of be similar with Drew Aller because a lot of what they're doing in that Penn State offense is just not what he's going to be asked to do in the NFL. So, yeah, you do have to make a projection. But I go back to the lack of rhythm in his drops and his reads. And it's just I want to see the ball, his back foot hit the ground at the top of his drop, eyes up, ball up, ball up, and out of his hand.

You know, I want to see the better timing, better rhythm. And he's just, I don't know, it looks like he's afraid to make a mistake. And then as the walls close in, it's like, oh, shoot, I got to make a play. He, you know, that's when he's like, okay, you know, I'll just get rid of it. And sometimes he's able to make a play. Sometimes he's not. So, you know, I, there are reasons to be encouraged. There's no doubt.

But I think that when teams look at Drowler as a prospect and they go, on draft night, it's going to be more similar to how teams looked at Will Levis, where it's like, yeah, this guy's got a lot of talent. This guy, you know, there's a lot to like, but there's something missing. It's just, it's not connecting. And until he shows us otherwise, why should we believe it's going to change? And all it takes is one team to say, you know what, let's roll the dice. And so he could be the 25th pick in the first round.

And I don't think that'd be shocking because teams are willing to. a bet on talent at the position. But if Drew Aller falls to day two, that's not a surprising either based off of what he has put on tape so far. So, yeah, I mean, I think Levis was a former Penn State quarterback. I was going to say, I was debating whether to bring that up or not. But yeah, I can't help but notice the symmetry there. Yeah.

So a guy that's super talented and very likable as a person, you know, like the intangibles. There's a lot to like there. But there's just something missing. Something's not connecting where you are taking that next step as a quarterback. And maybe you're capped. You know, that happens with a lot of these quarterbacks. And you can't always blame the receivers. We can't always blame the coaching.

We can't always, you know, it's it. Sometimes there is definitely context is required. You know, it's not just about what the quarterback's doing. There's so much around the quarterback that affects how the quarterback plays. but at a certain point, you have to see him put it all together on film and we just haven't seen that yet from Aller. Real quickly, before we move on,

I mean, this was just such a big game with so many prospects. Was there anybody else outside of the quarterbacks that really caught your eye once you got to sit down with it? Yeah, I mean, we, all the attention that we've been given these left tackles. We talked about that was a big one coming into this game. I thought the best offensive linemen for both Oregon and Penn State was on the interior.

Number 71 for Penn. Penn State left guard, Yo One-A, he was awesome. I think he might be the best player on that Penn State offense. He's a junior, so he'll have a decision to make after the year about coming out or not, but he's one of the best guards I've watched so far in this draft class, or at least guys that are draft eligible. And then the center for Oregon, I thought he was fantastic. The communication, the execution was awesome.

The left tackles, it was rough. Sheldon. Touch and go there a little bit. Yeah, Drew Shelton for Penn State. he was fine for the most part. He got caught off balance a few times. The run blocking I thought was really inconsistent. I didn't think he played like a first round pick.

And neither did Isaiah Worlds for Oregon who, man, it just looks sloppy. Like Billy Madison lunch lady extra sloppy. That level of sloppiness and pass protection. Like the tools are there, right? You can see the tools, the movement skills, the what he does with his frame. But the timing, the hands, just all. over the place. And so he gave up multiple pressures. He was called for a holding, got away with several other holdings, holding calls. So World's just didn't look like he was up for the challenge.

It was, I thought, by far, and he hasn't played great this year, but I thought that against Penn State was by far his probably worst game with the Ducks. I know Nittany Lion fans are still outraged about some of the technique, we'll say that Isaiah World displayed in that game. But a big Just missed calls. Yeah. They were missed calls. I mean, I don't think it decided the outcome,

but yeah, they absolutely. I mean, I get it if you're a Penn State fan like that almost fumble that happened and some of the holding calls that weren't called. Yeah, maybe it does change the game.

I don't know, but it is what it is. I'm going to pose our second game ball. I'm just going to pose as a question. You are the expert. I value your opinion so much. How excited should I be about Alabama? quarterback Ty Simpson because Alabama gets the big win in Athens in the other

marquee game of the weekend. And man, I'll just, I got excited. And I watched it back on Monday just to make sure it wasn't just in the moment. But I got pretty excited. And I just want to know if you think that's justified. I mean, I always think of you as a closet Alabama fan. So I'm not surprised to hear that. That hurts. First drive, Ty Simpson has had that gorgeous deep shot to Ryan Williams right down the seam and it's just dropped. Unbelievable. Yeah. I mean, I, Ryan Williams drop rate is, it's rough.

Yeah, that's not a conversation we need to have because he's not eligible, but, um, but, but I'm, I'm putting it in my notes somewhere to circle back to at some point. His body type, like he's just, he's an undersized player and the, the amount of focus drops is something that is, uh, it's a legit concern. But Ty Simpson on that play, like he saw the safety he was leaning. He knew he had it. It was in that type of environment, you're on the road against Georgia. You have a touchdown on a perfect pass and it's dropped.

Like those are the type of mistakes that you can lose because of mistakes like that in a close game like this. And credit to Ty Simpson, like your star receiver drops it. He comes back and continues firing later in the drive, three step drop, back foot hits the ass fires a touchdown on the slant of Jeremy Bernard. A lot of what Ty Simpson was doing, it was kind of what I wish Drew Aller would do, where everything's on time, everything just looks in rhythm. I think, and that's what I loved about most about what Simpson put on that tape. It was all in rhythm.

The drops from under from either whether a shotgun, mostly shotgun. And then with the way the ball came out of his hand, Georgia played a lot of zone. They tried to drop an umbrella over the offense where we're keeping everything in front. but when the quarterback is consistently on time with his reads and with his throws, you're going to give up yards and that's exactly what happened. Simpson, I thought that he was seeing things really well pre-snap. And so he knew exactly because when you see things well pre-snap, it cuts down on the reading.

You have to do post-snap. And so that's exactly what we saw from Ty Simpson. He was able to find the backside dig. He was able to find that whole shot in between zones where he's not, you know, he's not having the wait for it to come open. he's anticipating and understands the timing of the play. So was he perfect? No.

I mean, the ball placement on some of his throws were a little bit off. Some of those throws would sail on him. The touch could be better. There were a few times where he bailed on some clean pockets. But it also gave us a chance to see that functional mobility, the chance to make plays on the move. And he just consistently made throws. And so the conversation with Simpson is, it's kind of similar to Dante Moore, you know,

where the sample size, it's very small, we have literally four starts with Ty Simpson. And so what do you, you know, it's hard to like go all in, put all your chips in with four starts. But what he's putting on tape, he belongs in the early round discussion. And can he keep this up all year,

this level of play? I mean, remember last year against Georgia how good Jalen Milro looked? And we were talking to, hey, maybe this is quarterback won because of how good he played against the Bulldogs. But with Ty Simpson, we have to remember, this is a five-star guy.

I mean, he was ranked really high. He was actually ranked higher than Drew Aller was as a recruit coming out. And he waited his turn behind Bryce Young and then two years, Jalen Milrow. I'm not ready to say that Simpson is definitely this or that, but especially when we just have four starts, but he played outstanding at Georgia in a tough place to play. He just deserves to be talked about more, deserves more respect. and because he's already four years into that program,

he's a graduate, he's older. He could be one and done. So Simpson, we have to keep close tabs on him moving forward. If he keeps up this level of play, yeah, he'll be someone we're talking about as, you know, potentially one of the top three quarterbacks in this class. I think there's a natural tendency to think less of a guy who waits his turn. Because if you were that good, then you would take somebody else's job away from him.

but I don't think that's fair. And, yeah, I don't think Ty Simpson deserves to be overlooked by any means. And yeah, I hear you on the accuracy. And, and like, yeah, he didn't play the best game of his life. I mean, Alabama didn't score in the second half of this game. Like, you know, I think over time, it, it settled down. But, man, the confidence that he was ripping the ball, the way he was seeing, seeing the guy, like seeing his targets and having the confidence to rip it to them.

I thought his arm talent looked really good. His, like, I know he had some nice gains with his feet, but like just his mobility just as a passer, like moving around in the pocket, resetting his feet when he did have to get away from rushers. Like he had, he had one throw where he had to like reverse field to get away from a free rusher. And he like flipped his hips and reset his feet. feet. And I was like, man, to do that and then throw a strike on the road in a place like Athens

against a team like Georgia, it like I said, it got me really excited. I thought it was really impressive. If you could look like the way Mack Jones looked at Alabama from the pocket, but then also give more of a running element where you can escape the rush. You can keep plays alive. Yeah, that's going to be something NFL teams were interested in. Because And I think that the physical tools aren't amazing. I think the arm is good. It's not great. And he can just get a little bit better with some of those touch throws.

But I think that comes with experience, just feeling it. But the fact that he knows what he's pre-snap, he understands what defense is doing. He knows where the throw is going to be. And everything was on time. And that's when it boils down to it, that's such a big part of playing quarterback. I don't care what level we're talking. So, yeah, I mean, you have my attention, Ty Simpson, a guy that if he continues this level of play,

because again, I mean, Alabama playing the SEC, we're going to see some other big time games at Alabama plays. Simpson's going to be, along with Dante Moore and a few of these other guys, someone that belongs at the top of the list. And maybe not surprisingly, we can hit on this really quickly. Ty Simpson got a nice game from his left tackle, which Caden Proctor, we've talked about not having, not having the most amazing start to his 2025 season,

but he showed up in a big way. And I'm guessing that had an effect on his quarterback as well. I mean, all he needed was to be featured in the passing game, get a target and kind of woke him up a little bit because, yeah. It was fun. That was fun. It officially goes down as a rush, not a catch. But it was something that I hope we see again.

this year because man, trying to tackle that guy. Good luck. So, yeah, I thought this was, I mean, this was by far Proctor's the best he's looked all season. He didn't allow a sack, didn't allow a pressure. He was much better with the timing of his hands, with his landmarks. You saw him really lean in the power element because that's a guy that size. He has the power.

That should be his superpower. And you saw him snatch, disposed the defenders. this was good Proctor. Now, why did we have bad Proctor against Wisconsin, against Florida State? I don't know. But hopefully this can be like a turning point for him where, especially because we're going to see, I think they've got Missouri coming up, Tennessee, South Carolina. Those are three teams with better pass rushers than what Georgia has.

And so we're going to see plenty of tests for Proctor throughout the month of October, November, that'll hopefully give us a better idea of who Proctor really is. Because when he plays like this, he is every bit the top 10 pick that he's kind of been billed as. Really quickly, one last game ball. And I don't know, I don't know how much we take away from it. Arkansas defense is a mess. And I don't think it's a surprise that this performance got Sam Pittman fired on Sunday afternoon. But we highlighted not just Jeremiah Love, but Dane, you made the call.

you said, hey, keep an eye out for Judarian Price, the other guy in the Notre Dame backfield. And boy, if he didn't show up, I mean, they both did. Jeremiah Love had 127 scrimmage yards to go with four touchdowns. Jedarian Price, 121 scrimmage yards, led the team in rushing, 86 rushing yards, two touchdowns of his own. It kind of looked like they were playing flag football at times in this game. But it was nice to see the Irish running backs show off what they were all about. Yeah, I mean, Price, he's just, he's not the athlete that Love is obviously, few people are, but he does a lot of the running back things better where, you know,

keeping his pads square to line of scrimmage, division, the patience, the tempo. It's the run balance at contact. Like, it's all there with him. And he's not a bad athlete by any means. So, yeah, I mean, he is, it really is a formidable one-two punch. And with Love, What I loved about what he did against Arkansas was in the passing game. Last year, he had more than four targets just once.

In 16 games last year, had more than four targets once. This year, six targets against Miami, six targets in the A&M game, and then five targets against Arkansas, Notre Dame smartening up and leaning on their best offensive weapon in different ways. And last year, it was all screens. And this year, I wrote about in my running back, preview. Let's get creative with the way we're using him. And they're finally starting to do that. This year we saw him against Arkansas. He was in the slot, motion to the slot, ran a,

he's part of the route combination, ran a, I think it was a corner route. But, you know, whether it's a throwback screen or, you know, whatever, it, just get him involved. Let him catch the ball and go be an athlete in space, because that's what makes him special. I, Jeremiah Love is, there's so much to like about him as just a ball carrier. He can make guys miss. He was so much stronger than you would expect for a guy that's 208, 210 pounds. Jen Lada with ESPN had a great piece on him at college game day.

I would encourage people to check out about his upbringing and how just he was always different. But he kind of football and competition allows him to be himself and how that really, how that helps him, you know, really shine is awesome. But yeah, Jeremiah Love is he is a fun player and might be the best skill player, offensive skill player in this draft and someone that I can tell you right now, the debate about, oh, is he, where is he with Ashen Genty? Where is he with Bijjan Robinson?

Where is he with Jemir Gibbs? Like, that's going to be talked about ad nauseum throughout the draft process about, okay, where exactly he is in that pecking order. I can't wait to see the range that he gets drafted in. I didn't have any doubts. Like, nothing about the slow first game or so concern me. But it's always better and more fun to see a guy of that caliber putting up numbers like that. And that's exactly what he did.

That does it for game balls. But we've got some stock to check in on with some of the top prospects on the other side of this break. All right, Dane, we call it top 50 stockwatch. I want to start with a guy who I love it when it I love when a plan comes together, dude, because we set up Indiana, Iowa as a big test for Fernando Mendoza coming off of a huge Illinois win. Maybe he didn't have to do a ton of hard stuff. Maybe the tape wasn't as impressive as the box scored looked. Well, we theorized that Iowa might give him an opportunity to do that.

and definitely not as impressive of a stat line, but I came away from this win that Indiana had against Iowa. I at least came away more impressed, but at the very least, we got some very useful information on Fernando Mendoza in this game. Yeah, and Indiana was lucky to come away with the win. I mean, it took a missed field goal late by Iowa. If Mark Grinowski doesn't get hurt late in the fourth quarter,

there's a good chance Iowa wins this game. but yeah, credit to Indiana and Mendoza. This, and I didn't watch any of this game live on Saturday. My focus was on other games. And so Sunday morning, this is one of the first games I wanted to watch on the film. And I did a live thread on Twitter with maybe the eight most important plays that Mendoza had, the good and the bad, you know, painting a full picture. And Iowa had a really specific plan. It was, we're going to pressure this guy.

We are not going to let them sit back and just pick us apart. So zero blitz after zero blitz. You know, cross dog blitzes, blow up the A gap, simulated pressures. They were throwing a ton at Mendoza. And they were mixed results. There were times where Mendoza didn't get to the read in time and got hit or the pass was just off. He did throw his first interception late in the game that looked like he was going to set up

the game winning field goal for Iowa, but they end up missing it. But it was on a, I think that was a zero blitz. And he held the ball as long as he could. let it go and forced it and it was a bad throw interception. So he, this was not a perfect game by any means for Francisco Mendoza, but. Fernando, Fernando Mendoza.

Of course. I mean, Francisco is fun to say, but yes, Fernando Mendoza. He, this was, like I said, not a perfect game, but he made plays when his team needed him to. They, Indiana really wanted to establish the run.

So they ran the ball a ton. But when they did drop back, he was able to pick him apart. for the most part. So this was a really fun game to watch that Iowa, again, should have won, but they made enough mistakes and Mendoza made him pay for it. The seam ball that he threw to Elijah Surrott

with a guy just about to smash him. I mean, it made the rounds on Twitter over the weekend. I mean, he was. Yeah, no, he got crushed. And yeah. Yeah. But that's, I mean, that's big boy quarterbacking. So like when you do that and the cover two holds.

shot that he had for 30 whatever yards earlier in the game. Just a couple, like I said, I mean, I'd, I'd rather you make some mistakes and have some bad balls and put some shit like that on tape that make me sit up in my seat. I'd rather see that than what we got against Illinois, where it's like, yeah, like this all looks nice, but what am I truly learning about you as a prospect? Like, I feel like I learned a lot against Iowa. During draft season, when we see Mendoza, of highlights. A lot of them are going to be from this game. Getting smacked right in the face when he knew it's coming,

holding on the ball into the last second, getting rid of it. Yeah, that whole shot against cover two where you're backed up in your own end and you have to make a perfect throw down the sideline, 35 plus yards. Just sneak it past a corner before the safety gets there. That is big boy NFL stuff that will get the attention of teams.

And so there was a third and six where he had to use his leg, something we talked about last week where it's not about being the best athlete out there, but having enough functional mobility to go get the yards if they're there. So just forcing defenses to respect that. Mendoza is not going to blow you away with the physical traits. The arm is good, not great. It's more based off of his mind and the way that he sees the field that really sets him apart. if I feel like I know more about Fernando Mendoza, I'll tell you what, buddy.

I don't feel like I know anything about Garrett Nussmeyer. I think that's another game that we wanted to hit. And I say that tongue in cheek, but yeah, it's a weird situation for LSU. Obviously, they lose 24 to 19 to Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon. And I feel like the talk coming out of this game is whether or not, Garrett Nussmeyer is more hurt than people know. And Brian Kelly, I mean, Brian Kelly said going into the game that he's dealing with a torso injury.

He said after the game that Garrett Nussmeyer's healthy. Garrett didn't want to talk about it. And now LSU goes into a biweek where, I don't know, teams do things during biweeks. They tinker with what's not working. They self-scout. I'm curious to see what comes out of LSU's biweek because I've watched Garrett Nussmeyer's entire career.

And even if you lose to Ole Miss, I mean, LSU loses to Ole Miss plenty of times, that's not crazy. But he just, he doesn't look like the player that I was excited to watch and people were excited to scout. And if it, if it's injury or if it's not injury, I don't know the answer to that. But I just, I come out of this confused by how it's, even if he's not better than he was last year, he just doesn't look like the same football player for one reason or another. He's not healthy. I mean, clearly. And whether you like Garrett and Osmire as a quarterback or you don't,

you can see that he's, something is off. And it's, it is tough to watch that offense because there's no run game. The offensive line has been, is it fair to say below average? That's, I think that's generous.

I think below average would be generous. Yeah. So, and again, we're not making excuses for Garrett Nussmeyer. This is, there's so much more to the problems that LSU can't move the football than just the quarterback. And, yeah, Nussmeier, you know, he's, it's, it makes it tough to get a full evaluation because he's clearly not healthy. And it's, you want to see him out there to show what he has. but right now it's just it doesn't look right. And so something to monitor the rest of the year.

You know, it's another situation where I'm not even sure what to do with like the tape against Ole Miss because it's not like you're, okay, well, he's trash now. We're just, we're going to drop him. We're not going to talk about him again. Like he's clearly not healthy and he's pressing and it's the ball doesn't have the same life. You know, there's a lot going on with that LSU offense that makes it difficult to talk about at this point. I think the play that's going around, rightfully so, you know, he had a go ball to, I think it was Chris Hilton who had like two steps on his guy. And like if, if you've seen Garrett Nussmeyer throw, even like he doesn't even have the craziest arm talent. But he throws that in his sleep last year. And he like, he put his whole body into it and couldn't get it there from like 40 yards out. And then on top of that, the interception that he throws in that game. I mean, it's a bad decision. because he throws it into triple coverage. It's a terrible decision.

But also, it looked like a duck. Like it didn't have any velocity on it. So not only is it a bad decision, but you're not even throwing it hard enough to have the chance to make yourself right because you're just talented. And those two throws, I was just like, all right, man, I don't know what's going on.

And if LSU doesn't want to talk about it, that's fine, but something's going on. So, yeah, I mean, LSU is off this week. And I'm curious to see if anything shakes loose in the next few weeks about Garrett Nussmeyer. But I guess we'll have to see. I'd say you have to imagine they're going to, they have to address it in some shape or form, whether it's, I don't know, do you shut them down for a few weeks? Do you, I mean, because it's, you're not helping anybody by being out there.

You're not helping, you know, in terms of your own personal draft stock as a prospect, but then also the team. So, yeah, they need to figure out something on this by week. one last guy I wanted to bring up in our stock watch. And I love the way you framed it in our production meeting where officially after an 11 catch 151 yard two touchdown day, Mackay Limon of USC is he's letting it be known that this is not like a one horse race for wide receiver one. He looked awesome. He's been awesome this whole year, but especially against Illinois.

I mean, he, he just, you want to draft receivers that when they're targeted, good things happen. And that's the easiest way I can sum up, Mackay Lemon, because he's so dang reliable in terms of settling down in space. He's an outstanding zone route runner. And then what he does at the catch point and then maximizing what he can get after the catch as well. He's so good, snatching the football, putting it away, and then making a guy miss to create that yak, that. that is, you know, those hidden yards that maybe other receivers aren't getting. So we saw it consistently. This guy is, he's dependable.

You know, if you, you are trying to defend USC, I don't know how you don't treat him like Jeremiah Smith and bracket him and just force you. USC has other ways they can go, but force those guys to beat you. Don't just let them target Mikea Lemon all game because, again, when he's targeted, good things happen. So I'm not sure exactly what the testing is going to look like in terms of 40-yard dash and all that kind of stuff. All I know is the tape says good things happen when he's targeted. That's a good place to start. It was a big weekend for a lot of your favorite wide receivers because Jordan Tyson balled the hell out on Friday night. He goes eight for 126 and two in Arizona State's big win against TCU.

And you guy, Chris Bell, had himself a nice day. with 10 catches for 135 and a touchdown in Louisville's win against Pittsburgh. So not a bad Saturday or weekend, I should say, since Jordan played on Friday. Yeah, I think the receivers that we're excited about coming in, they all played well. I mean, Cardinal Tate had a few nice catches too for Ohio State. Even, you know, they didn't throw it around a ton. But when they did, Cardinal Tate was a good player. So, yeah, it was, I mean, Chris Bell for, again, it just comes down to that size.

You're 227 pounds and to be as explosive as you are to create that type of separation. That's, you can see why he's getting teams excited, even if it's not always consistent. And then, yeah, Jordan Tyson, he's so fluid. And that fluidity as a route runner, it's able to create his own separation. And it's, he is a lot, the connection him and Sam Labet have is a lot of fun to watch. because he will create his own separation and then he will go make plays down the field. So right now, I mean, Jordan Tyson, I still feel comfortable saying is wide receiver won. I mean, he was all summer.

He still is a month into the year. He has done nothing to relinquish that crown. But the way McKayleman's playing, Chris Bell's playing well too. And this is, it's at least going to make it a fun wide receiver race as we go on the rest of the season. I'm going to take this opportunity to introduce a new segment. that I came up with, I think it's really going to put you in your wheelhouse day. And I'm going to call this while you were busy.

And I had this thought on Saturday. I mean, there's so many headline marquee games and we talk about them plenty for good reason. But obviously there's going to be stuff that slides beneath the surface on a day like Saturday. So while you were busy worrying about Oregon Penn State or wondering what the hell's wrong with LSU,

there's a lot of other stuff going on and I'm just going to throw it to you for a couple of players that we want to make sure to highlight and really the goal here is just to introduce as many names as possible because obviously there's there's just an ungodly amount

of college football happening on any given Saturday. Yeah and so the Ohio State Washington game was I thought a lot of fun I mean just anytime to watch out Ohio State defense Arvel Rees, Caleb Downs. I actually tweeted yesterday and people got upset at me that don't be surprised when Arvall Reese is the first Buckeye drafted in April. Oh, you put that out there.

I put it out there. I mean, let's go, Dane. When you look at the way NFL drafts safeties and then you look at the talent, Arvall Reese is, 6-4, 240, and he spied Williams, the Washington quarterback, most of the game and just really contained him in a big way. The ease of movement and the length for Arvel Reese is awesome. I could talk all day about him. But I want to give a shout out to Caden Curry,

the defensive end for Ohio State who had a career game. I mean, he tied the Ohio State record with, I think it was five tackles for a loss. What do you have, three sacks? I mean, he was, while Arvill Reese was doing a spy in and kind of sitting back, Curry is one of the guys where you just kind of wind him up and let him go and eventually that motor

is going to get him home. He entered the year as kind of like a PFA, borderline draft pick, 6-2-255, under 31-inch arms so like the size doesn't wow you. But the motor, man,

this guy does not quit. And even though he has those short arms, he will get into the chest of blockers and he's so physical with his hands that he will move guys. And so, it's not going to look that easy against NFL blockers as it did against Washington's blockers. But he's a fun watch because he does not quit.

And so he played like a guy that wants to get drafted. And he did not get a lot of draftable grades over the summer. But when teams throw on this tape and not just what he did against Washington, but you go back to watch the Ohio tape and go back and watch Texas, he is playing like a guy that wants to be drafted. And he's going to find his way into rotation that way. Three sacks is a I mean that's an amazing game and it's going to get all the headlines but I thought when I went back and watched he like very active and fun as a run defender too

like he made a really nice play down on the goal line as a run guy just I mean yeah the awareness yeah that goal line playhead um there's another one I mean the run game awareness was outstanding um and they'll line them up inside it's not just on the edge they'll line them up as a nose over the center. They'll line him up as a three, as a four eye or a three technique. So they can move him all over the place because he is so physical. And the fact that he just doesn't quit is kind of his superpower that separates him. The other guy we wanted to highlight in while you were busy,

actually Ohio State's next opponent, what can you tell me about Golden Gophers, D-Lineman Anthony Smith, who had a big day against Rutgers? Yeah, I think he was seven pressures. two sacks. And he's had a good season as a whole. While Caden Curry is a little bit undersized and that's kind of holding him back in terms of his NFL evaluation, Smith is the opposite.

He is 6-6-85. Another guy that can line up and down the line of scrimmage, a really long player. And sometimes that length works against him. He'll miss some tackles in the backfield because he's just late to break down, collect his feet and finish. but he can win in different ways. He has that inside quickness. He has the length where he can bench press guys off him.

Anthony Smith is a guy that we knew about coming into the year. It's not like this is a big surprise, but he didn't make my top 50, whereas the way he's been playing, he's making at least a run to be considered in that mix as a guy that should be, I think he was already kind of in that day two range. I gave him a third round grade over the summer,

but he's making a, a run for why he should be considered even higher than that. Like I said, big opportunity for him coming up. Do the gophers is that, yeah, that's this coming weekend. So Saturday night. Yeah, Saturday night in Minnesota gets a shot. Oh, Ohio State fans finally get a night game in the shoe. How about that?

Good for them. All right. That does it for week five of the college season. I did say we're going to take a look at Dane's first month all rookie team on the other side of this break. All right, Dane, this week you published your all rookie team for the first month of the NFL season, went through every position. Obviously, it's, it's early. It's a small sample size, but a ton of fantastic performances from this rookie class already.

I think I saw Bill Barnwell tweeted on Tuesday that the rookie running backs in this year's class accounted for 700 plus rushing yards in week four of the NFL season. season, something crazy like that. Obviously, when you have Ashton Genty and Omari and Hampton going off the way they did, RJ Harvey had a really nice night for Denver on Monday night football. I mean, I knew, I could have guessed they had a good week, but like that, it's an impressive amount of production. So there's, there's plenty of exciting stuff to look at here. Although, I think we got to start with quarterback, and I'm grimly amused, I'm grimly amused at how differently this would have gone last year when you put this team together, when you've got Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels, what he did last year and Drake May to choose from. And this year, Cam Ward is obviously the selection,

but I think it's pretty much by default, would you say, based on how the first quarter of the season has gone? That's the thing. Maybe this is a cop out, but we don't have a sample size yet of any of these other quarterbacks besides Cam Ward. So by default, yeah, I mean, Cam Ward is, the picket quarterback. Now, Jackson Dart led the Giants to a win in his first start. But I don't know. We didn't see enough from Jackson Dart in that game to definitively say, oh, yes, he's been the best rookie over the first quarter of the season,

where with Cam Ward, yeah, the numbers don't look great. He's completing just over 50% of his passes, two touchdowns, two interceptions, like in just watching that offense, everything looks hard. but I mean, can the guy get some help? Like, again, we're not making excuses for the quarterback, but it's just everything that looks like they're doing, it just looks like sabotage. They're not giving his quarterback any help.

The offensive line looks terrible. Now, I know they're banged up. The run game has been one of the worst in the league. The receivers, I mean, they're just not getting open. And then some of the play calls, it's hard to fathom what they're doing. So I don't know. There's a lot going on in Tennessee that when I put on the tape, it's just very confusing.

And I don't know how any quarterback, whether it's a rookie number one overall pick or a 10-year veteran, I don't know how you're finding success in that type of environment. But, yeah, out of default, Cam Ward is the top quarterback through four games. I will gladly make excuses for Cam Ward. And I don't care if he's the number one overall pick in the draft. And I don't say this in a condescending way. I promise you.

I like I like you can go do this yourself go find find the all 22 it's as readily available as it's ever been you can get it on NFL plus watch the Titans and tell me what more Cam Ward is reasonably supposed to do like yeah does he hold on to the ball too long sometimes sure does he stare down receivers sometimes absolutely does he like does he need to change up the velocity on some of his things? throws and maybe make some of these balls a little bit easier for his receivers to catch. I'll even say yes, even knowing that the Titans have dropped like eight passes this year and Calvin Ridley has done nothing to help this guy out. I'll even say like, yeah, he doesn't need to throw it 105 every single time. Kim Ward's got plenty to work on. But go watch this Titans team and tell me what he's supposed to do with the drops and the performance of the offensive line.

I mean, just the O line gets caved in every freaking week. And if the O line's not getting caved in, the play calling's not doing anybody any favors, whether you want to talk about the route combinations or I lost my mind, Dane, when I rewatched, Tennessee got shut out by Houston the other day and like one drive into the game. And Tennessee changed their play caller during the week. The new play caller who Brian Callahan handed the reins to like first series, knowing everything we know about the Titans, we're calling slow developing flea flickers

against Will Anderson and DeNeal Hunter. And like, like I know J.C. Latham is hurt, but they paid Dan Moore a lot of money to play left tackle. And he's just getting used as a turnstile by DeNeal Hunter. And Cam Ward barely has a chance, man. Like, he certainly has a hand in why the Titans look this bad. I wouldn't even put him in like the top five. reasons why. And on top of that, he still does like four really fun things a week. Like Cam Ward can be a

good player, but it ain't going to happen in this situation. Okay. Yeah. And you're making me feel better about having Cam Ward there because it's, you have no, you should feel no shame. Like, honestly, I'll say it again. Like, if you're super down on Cam Ward, that just tells me that all we're watching is Red Zone. Like that's, that's all we're seeing of Cam Ward. If you think he sucks because he just, I just don't buy it. Yeah. Now, by midseason, when we have four or five games of Jackson Dart, you know, then it'll be.

Sure. Jackson Dart, absolutely. I mean, for that to be his first game against a good Chargers defense, I thought was so impressive. And he could absolutely, you know, have something to say next time you do a check-in like this. Yeah, especially with the Eagles coming up twice in the next four weeks for the Giants. They play them like two weeks of point.

parts weird um so we'll have a better idea of what nfl jackson dart looks like it's not a criticism at all but i mean this i think one one month into the season it's a very chalky all rookie list because the big time picks are the guys who get the opportunity i mean omarian hampton uh i think it's like omari and hampton hasn't had a game as amazing as what ashton genty did against the bears but Ashton Jinty, it's been a little bit of a slow start up until that game against Chicago. I think that makes perfect sense. And then, I mean, it's very, it's very fun, but go figure. Emeka, Buka, and Tett McMillan are bawling the hell out.

It's, it's very fun that they both hit the ground running as quickly as they did, but not really surprising when you're putting a team like this together. Well, and a Mecca Buka was as pro ready as you get. You talk about a guy that does everything on the football field, blocking, can line up X, Y, Z. Wherever you want him in the formation, he can do it. He's so smart. He already feels like a veteran. It is not a surprise at all that he has hit the ground running with Tampa Bay, especially with, again, opportunity.

Mike Evans banged up. Chris Godwin banged up. Finally, maybe getting him back. So, you know, he's getting those targets in that offense from Baker Mayfield. So yeah, not surprising that he, and I would even call him, I don't know, is he the favorite for NFL offensive rookie the year? Right now, yeah. Right now. So, I mean, yeah.

I mean, it's early, but definitely. Absolutely. I mean, we're just talking with what we've seen on film so far. Yeah, and credit Dash and Jensy for the game he had. I mean, he's one of the best past catching backs that I've evaluated and, you know, they're finally starting. You know, he had two catches, two touchdowns on Sunday. So, hey, maybe keep doing that, Las Vegas. Maybe that's something you should look at.

What about tight end? I think that this was a tight end class where we had a couple of guys to go early. And the way Tyler Warren's been playing, man, kind of like a Bucca where it's, this is a ready-made player, a guy that's ready to hit the ground running. And boy, man, that's exactly what he's done. I think about the show we did it before the season every time I watch the Colts. because you mentioned Tyler Warren as like a sneaky offensive rookie of the year candidate. And I kind of, I don't know if I laughed it off, but I was just like, what are the odds that a tight end actually pulls that off?

And I still think it's unlikely that a tight end does it. But man, Tyler Warren, it's not just that he's a good player, but I love that the Colts recognized what a diverse player he is. Like, it would be such a shame if you just use. Tyler Warren as like a big slot sort of receiving tight end. And that's not what the Colts do. Like they used him as a lead blocker and as like a wildcat rusher against the Rams the other day.

They get him on the move in the screen game. Like they've got him running routes from every part of the formation. It's very fun when you recognize that a team had a plan for a player. And the Colts clearly had a great plan. and they are executing it to perfection with this guy week after week. Well, the last few seasons, we've been talking about, hey, what would a premier playmaker look like at tight end in this offense? You know, if Brock Bowers were to fall to them in the first round two years ago,

they couldn't pass on them. You know, what that would mean opening everything up. In this past year, we talked all offseason about, hey, okay, this is a good tight end class. Let's get one of these guys into that offense and what the impact it would have, everybody else, they get a little bit lucky that Tyler Warren was still there at, what, 14 overall? There's a good chance Tyler Warren could have gone earlier, but he falls to the 14th pick, and it's a perfect fit for this offense. So, you know, there's a lot of targets to go around in that offense, but Tyler Warren has

shown what he deserves, you know, a good percentage of those targets. I love watching him play. And I liked him in college, but seeing him do it in the NFL, I don't know. maybe it hits different. I don't know, whatever the kids say, but I'm really enjoying watching him in that offense.

He was wrapped in clear wrapping paper as a prospect. Like you know what you're getting with Tyler Warren. Like if you don't value taking a tight end top 10, fine, I get it.

That's different. But as a player, as someone that is all the ways they use him in college at Penn State, all the ways that you could use him in the NFL, how reliably is at the catch point,

you know exactly what you're getting with him. So not a surprise at all that he's kind of had this type of impact. this quickly. Do you want to use this spot to do your semi-regular soapbox about Armand Membou? Yeah, I mean, this feels like the offensive rookie of the year. I mean, in a just world, that would be a valid conversation. I got to see it to believe it.

But holy crap, dude. And even like Monday night against the dolphins. Like one of the first few plays of the game, he just pancaked the shit out of a guy. Like he just malls people. It's very fun. his contact balance and finishing strength for a guy with those movement skills it's just it's i don't know how you can watch him and not get excited um and he's 21 years old and he doesn't turn 22 until like march this is a young player who hasn't been playing tackle very long and he's figuring things out very very quickly um it just doesn't look too big for him so yeah armand membu um you know i think, you know, we talked about this during our live show, but when the Browns moved back, traded away from Travis Hunter, I thought, oh, at five, that would make a lot of sense for them.

They have a lot of offensive line issues. They go Mason Graham, which has been fine. But Armand Membue to fall to the Jets, it feels like they've got a cornerstone, especially if Olu Foshanu continues to play well, they've got their tackles for a long, long time. It's a little hard to feel great about the Jets because they're O and four. and they're, they're one of the most, like, undisciplined teams in football,

but besides that, uh, the offensive line whips ass. Like the, like the vision as a Jets fan, like if, the vision for the Jets, at least in terms of like offensively,

like running the ball incredibly well, mauling people at the point of attack, at least giving Justin Fields a chance to make plays. Like you see flashes of it. Obviously, it's, it's not good enough to make the Jets a good team,

but, I'm if I'm a Jets fan looking for copium, it's probably that this offensive line looks like it can be a strength moving forward. And it'll be fun the rest of the year to compare, contrast, Membue, and Will Campbell. Because Will Campbell had that rough debut in week one. But since then, he has been really, really good. He's getting better and better like you would expect from a top five tackle who still young, still figuring things out. But it'll be fun to watch these two guys, the rest of this season. and to see if can Will Campbell catch Membue?

Can, do we see clear separation between the two? Are they going to be on the same level? So, you know, just like Amerihan Hampton, Ash and Genti, you know, a couple of these position battles of rookies. Campbell and Membue a tackle is going to be a lot of fun. I don't think anybody would be surprised to hear that Abdul Carter and Mason Graham are your top defensive lineman. Abdul Carter flashed in a huge, huge way against the Chargers in week

four. I have to note at least some of that is probably due to Joe Alt leaving that game but he still looks the part. He looks very explosive. He looks like he's going to be causing plenty of disruptions for

a long time to come. Well, and that's after he played mostly off ball linebacker the week before and then they move him back to edge in this game and it's like, okay, this isn't hard. Like I get it. Maybe maybe the

Yeah, maybe the, it's funny, again, another Penn State guy where, like, we, Micah Parsons did the off ball thing and occasionally still does, but maybe let's, let's bump those edge snaps up as much as possible, please. And, you know, I get it. They want to get the best players on the field. Like, you want to get Brian Burns and Tibado and, I mean, you want to get all these guys on the field the same time. But if Abdul Carter is not rushing the passer, you're doing things wrong.

This is why you drafted him second overall. So this is part of the feeling out process, but I think the Giants know that. I do think it's a little bit by default. Like I don't think any of these other pass rushers have really jumped out all that much. They flash, no doubt. We'll see if that changes throughout the year. Same thing with defensive tackle. Mason Graham kind of wins it out of default.

He has not been consistent. But, you know, especially in that Green Bay game, you know, he showed enough flashes that he gets it at least for now. but he better play better if he's going to hold on to it all season. I do think this is this is a good conversation. And I can't say I'm surprised because I know how you feel about the guy. But Carson, Carson Swessinger, edging out Jihad Campbell for the linebacker designation, which I don't know that there's a wrong choice here. That's fair.

It's been fun to watch both of these guys. what is it about Swessinger? I'm just setting you up to gush about this guy, but what is it about him that sets him apart for you in the first month? I mean, well, he leads all rookies and tackles, leads the Browns and tackles. He's making plays all over the field. The closing burst,

when he's allowed to work downhill. And the big kind of knock on him by everyone, me included, was he's not a necessarily, super physical at the point of attack when he's attacking the line of scrimmage. That hasn't really been an issue for him this year. He is playing really well working off blocks, not getting contained. That was the area he had to work on.

The instincts, the speed, that's what really set him apart. So you put it all together and he's doing really well in coverage as well. He hasn't allowed to catch over 10 yards. So Campbell, he certainly has a case. has an interception. There's a little bit of a gift from Baker Mayfield, but he does have the interception on his resume. Both these guys hit the buy button because I think it's only going up from here. I mean, these guys are, and it's funny, they were drafted two spots apart. One was the late first round, early second round, so, you know, it doesn't feel like they were

drafted close together, but only two spots apart in the overall draft order. And so it'll be fun to watch these guys moving forward. it's it's a part in terms of the amount of guarantees you get i'll tell you that much you're not wrong uh i do what what i think is interesting here and i'm not trying to say that swessinger is bad in coverage but the you know typically when we talk about a young linebacker it's like oh he's he's he's so good finding the football and getting involved in the run game and making tackles and all that good type of stuff and it's it's typically coverage where a young linebacker needs to develop as a player and like linebackers who cover

cover well are so valuable and so rare. Jihad Campbell is excellent in coverage. Like right out of the gate, he has been so good and so fun. I know he had he had the laps that led to a bust on a touchdown against Tampa the other day, but for the most part. And he redeemed himself later in that game with an interception. Like he has been a plus in coverage, which it is, it's rare to say that. about a rookie linebacker, even if he is a first round pick.

Yeah. For his size and speed and his comfort working out in space, it's, yeah, Campbell's awesome. And he needed to get better in terms of seeing things in the box. And I think he's doing better job of that. He's still, it's still a work in progress. But in terms of the read react when everything's happening so fast in front of him, he is, you can see him getting better as the season goes on. And both these guys, Schwessinger and Campbell, starters from day one.

So they're getting every opportunity to go out there and they're putting more and more on their plates each game. Two, a little less chalky selections to wrap this thing up. If we're looking at DBs, I was pumped to see you highlight Tampa, Nickel, Jacob Parrish and Falcon Safety, Xavier Watts, two third round picks who have just been fantastic in the first month of the season. I've been you highlighted it like Watts gets the football that's what he does so it's fun to see him doing that at the NFL level and you know the the bucks took a gamble I guess you could call it like they drafted DBs in back to backgrounds with the hopes that they'd kind of be able to remake their secondary and you can't always count on that working and it is only one month but after one month it looks like it's working for the Buccaneers it's been fun to see. And Benjamin Morrison, the corner of the drafts in the second round, he's been banged up a little bit. But when he's been out there, it's been, he's been an asset for that team. So if he, hopefully he can stay healthy.

That was one of the big issues with him coming out of Notre Dame was could he stay healthy? Hopefully he stays on the field here the rest of the year because he could be in contention to be the top corner this year. Will Johnson had that great start for the Cardinals. But again, the question with him, could he stay healthy? That's why he fell to the second round. and he missed the last two games. But he was so good the first two games that he deserves to be talked about.

But yeah, Jacob Parrish, I think he just, him fitting in as the nickel in that secondary for the bucks really just helps that team get the most out of everybody else. It's kind of the completion of the puzzle in a way. And so Parrish, how aggressive he is working downhill, how fluid he is in coverage, there's just there's so much to like about him moving forward i was shocked he fell to the third round

i thought he'd be a second round pick all day but um i think that they got a steal and same thing with the falcons getting Xavier watts almost at the end of the third round i shocker but the guy that had 13 combined interceptions the last two years at notre dame turns out he can get the football like you said and he he's the only rookie so far that has multiple interceptions he's got two of them probably could have had a third. But yeah, he's a guy that the range, the ability to the ball instincts to go get the football,

shocked he fell as far as he did. So not surprising that he has become a starter and that he's making plays on the ball. Hey, you could be the best ball hawk of all time in college. It still matters to translate that to the NFL and to do it two weeks into your rookie year. I mean, what I think the intercept. were against J.J. McCarthy as well as Marcus Mariotta.

So we'll see if you, we'll see if you can keep it up against a stiffer competition. But I mean, this is the NFL. I don't mean to diminish it because to translate it into the pro game as quickly as he is, it's impressive no matter who you're picking off. All the guys we mentioned, was there any other rookies that you've enjoyed watching over the first four weeks of the year?

any any or any any any any any any any any any favorites you had during the draft process that you've been excited to check out that so far this year oh man I mean we we've talked about a lot of them because like you said it is it is a super chalky start to this thing let me I'm I'm digging through this I'm out one while you're looking through it I Jammari called well um you know that Oregon defensive line was so good last year love Derek Harmon went the first round should of went in the first round. And as he gets healthy, I think he'll be a really big asset for that Steelers' defensive line.

But Jamari Caldwell, being a real part of that Chargers defensive line, has been a fun development, both as a run stopper, a guy that gives him a little bit of juice rustling the pasture. So Jamari Caldwell is a name that I think was, liked them a lot during the process, easy guy to root for. And it's really good to see him have a little bit of success with the Chargers. I can give you a couple. I mean, this is a guy that I talk about a lot,

but even with the expected ups and downs of being a rookie, like Josh Simmons is doing exactly what you hoped he would do in Kansas City. And that looks like it's going to be a long-term, great decision for Kansas City. And then I know Tampa wasn't his finest performance, but again, over the first month of the season, And Andrew McCuba has been very fun and a very nice pickup for Philadelphia. I think if that's what you're getting over the first month of his rookie year, that's a great place to be for the Eagles,

even if he did struggle against the Buccaneers. Just the fact that you're seeing a snap count go up and the amount of trust that Vic Fangio has in him, that speaks volume. So, yeah, I mean, I was not the biggest Mukuba fan. I don't, I usually don't love undersized safeties, but guys that are as versatile as he can be in as smart and fearless as they are, as a guy like this is,

yeah, those are guys that usually find some type of success. And so not surprised that he's been a big part of what the Eagles are doing here so far on defense. I'm just looking, I'm looking through the draft class now. I mean, yeah, there's guys worth, I mean, and they're not making like weekly contributions, but like Woody Marks had a little bit of a breakout game for the Texans on Sunday. Like all all up and down.

Isaac Tisla has like three catches, but two of them are the most jaw-dropping things you'll see all year. So yeah, I mean, this has been a fun first month, even if it has been a little chalky. Yeah, that's the Tesla thing will be fun to watch because that, Arkansas could not get him to football consistently. And but then he tested like a, primo athlete the interviews are off the charts the lions took him a lot earlier than i think most

teams thought he would go and uh you know i that he hasn't necessarily gotten the opportunity yet but it feels like at some point here uh he's going to play a factor in what this lion's offense wants to be we will make sure to keep checking in on this as the season goes i just i can't wait to see who winds up mattering by the end of the year who we're just not even thinking about right now. I like history suggests that that's going to be the case. So we'll keep an eye out. Before we get out of here, week six, definitely not as loaded as week five was. I'm going to be basic, Dane. I'm going to be the basic man than I am and say Archmanning and Texas are going to the swamp to play Florida. I don't care what Florida's record is. They have NFL talent and the swamp is a

tough place to play. I'm absolutely going to be watching to see what he looks like in an environment like that. Florida State is also, I'll just, I'll keep it all Florida located. Miami Florida State is a big one for, for all the pro guys we've talked about there. That's what jumps out to me. What do you think? Miami Florida State is definitely one I, I'm eager to watch, see if Carson Beck can continue to play at a relatively high level. Florida State coming off the loss to Virginia, they got upset last Friday.

So what do they look like in a game that's, They're probably playing an opponent that's better than they are. So can they get up and beat the hurricanes? I think hurricanes probably favored by four or five in this one. In terms of prospects, Daryl Jackson for Florida State, I want to see he's going to be such a big part of because Miami wants to run the ball. Carson Beck has done a nice job, but Miami wants to run the ball, control the line of scrimmage.

Darryl Jackson will be a big part of determining whether or not they're able to do that with what he brings on the Florida State defense line. I am curious, speaking of that, I don't think we've said this guy's name to this point in this season. Do you have any thoughts on Francis Maui Noah and what, you know, is that a guy to be watching in a matchup like this? Oh, no doubt. Right tackle for the Hurricanes.

He's played outstanding. I mean, I thought, because he's not, he has more of a guard build. And so it kind of looked like a guy that we're going to be kicking inside to best position to be at guard. And ultimately his best position might be inside. But there is no reason why we have to move him. He's playing outstanding outside of tackle. He stays square.

You know, he's not going to be the longest. He's not going to be the quickest. But his timing and his balance has been terrific out in space. So, yeah, I think he is like coming into the year, he was a maybe my fourth tackle. And he has not done anything to, you know, say he should move down from that. He's only moving up. I'm very okay that's the conversation that will be had as we go because you already I think there are going to be differing opinions about guard or tackle for him and I mean I'm interested to hear your stance on it and how that compares to other people and how that evolves as as the draft process goes on when this tackle class is not over the summer we were talking about how much promise it showed proctor hasn't been great like we talked about the two Utah tackles have been good. but not, they're not separating themselves as, hey, you know, we're definitely top 10 picks.

They've been good, though. You know, Chaplain at Auburn has not lived up to that level. We talked about the Oregon left tackle, the Penn State left tackle. So the promise that we talked about with these tackles has not lived up to what we were hoping to see at this point. But, yeah, Miami's right tackle has certainly been maybe the exception, a guy that's exceeded what we thought, even if just a little bit. Alabama also hosting Vanderbilt this weekend. Interesting for me to see how they respond to a big win against Georgia. We've said it all year.

Like this is not your older brothers Vanderbilt. This is a really good Vanderbilt team undefeated. They beat Bama last year. So what does it look like in Tuscaloosa this weekend? That's definitely something to watch. Yeah, those are the three games I've got circled unless you're, unless you've got one I'm forgetting about. No, I think that yeah, we mentioned Ohio State, Minnesota. There's a couple of Minnesota prospects worth watching that, you know, we can hit on next week,

how they perform in that type of atmosphere, but definitely a lighter week than what we just had this past Saturday. Be that as it may, we will have plenty to talk about next week. There is no doubt in my mind. Until then, we appreciate y'all so much for watching, for listening. Dane, I'll chat with you soon, man, and we will talk to all of y'all next week.